Chiara Ferragni dreamed of being an influential woman who would redefine the look of the fashion industry. At sixteen she started posting photos of her outfits on Flickr, at twenty-one she created one of the first fashion blogs called The Blonde Salad and at thirty-three she supports a business that bills more than 30 million euros. Forbes says that she is the most powerful fashion influencer in the world and her success story is studied at Harvard. But what are the keys to her great empire?

Ferragni, who this week gave birth to her second child, was a pioneer at a time when probably not everyone understood what was happening, or what was to come. The role of fashion influencers has always been to bridge the gap between the industry and real people, but when they were seated in the front row of a luxury show, next to Anna Wintour, that seemed like a desecration. At that time Instagram was taking its first steps and people saw the 'influencers' as living advertising.

Forbes says she is the most powerful fashion influencer in the world and her success is studied at Harvard

But Chiara Ferragni was different. The Italian had the ability to capture the interest of thousands of people with a single image and a few words. The public that before was not even close to fashion found in it an aspiration and a model to follow. A successful businesswoman who retained the naturalness of an anonymous person. Ferragni's authenticity is the foundation on which her entire empire is built. In her profile there is not only room for luxury clothes and private parties, there is also room for everyday things and, of course, for her family.

Naturalness

When her first son Leone was born, her husband Federico Lucia, alias Fedez, and she had to make the difficult decision of whether or not to keep him away from social networks. "I have been criticized a lot for Leo's overexposure," she said in her documentary Chiara Ferragni Unposted. For Fedez, the reasoning was clear: “Leo is the son of two characters who have decided to expose themselves publicly and he was inevitably going to experience the same situation. Hiding it at all costs would have been a much more complicated exercise.” And she added: "For us, including it in our networks, in a natural way, means not having 70 paparazzi under the house every day."

Both Leone and Fedez are the pillars of Ferragni's life, and they have been joined by a new protagonist, Vittoria, whom they welcomed on March 23.

But when the Italian flatters her family, she also does it with her other great pillar, her two sisters. Valentina, the youngest of the Ferragni, and Francesca, the oldest, have always been very present. Chiara introduced her little sister to the world of fashion, where she is now a jewelry designer, and made her an 'influencer'. On the opposite side is Francesca, who lives her life away from the networks as a dentist.

As for Chiara's business career, in addition to her work as a content creator, it is built on the basis of her brand of shoes, accessories and clothing, Chiara Ferragni Collection. The firm was born in 2013, it is sold in more than 400 stores around the world and produces around 40 million euros and employs around 80 people, according to the general manager Fabio Maria Damato.

That entrepreneurial spirit that has always accompanied Chiara is another great key to her success. “In a world in which positions of power are dominated by men, many women set limits when it comes to entrepreneurship. You have to be much more prepared. That's why when a woman is successful she goes a long way,” said Fendi creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi, referring to the Ferragni phenomenon.

The team that accompanies this Italian business phenomenon in her adventure, whom she calls "her second family", are the last piece of this unprecedented network. One that with a lot of effort and dedication, today, is worth a fortune.